Fanche's Change
by RealitySwitcher
Summary: During the first skirmish at Haven, Fanche's view of the Lady Knight changes.  And it only takes two killing devices.  3rd person POV. I own nothing.


Fanche drew the bow back as far as it would go before loosing it into the tide of Scanrans. She took a moment to wipe her brow before determinedly fitting another arrow to her bow.

"Hold your arrows!"

Fanche ignored the voice and drew the arrow back. An iron-like vice clamped onto her arm forbiddingly.

"The Lady Knight says hold," the soldier growled. Fanche growled back in response but did as the man bade her. Hold their arrows? That was a bad move. With their arrows they could strike down the enemy from a distance and ward off a good percent of their approach.

When the chit had them open the gates to allow the foot soldiers out, fanche could have killed her. She was risking men on the ground when they could have shot the scanran dogs! She knew the slut was green, but stupid too? Did they even want the civilians to survive this?

Her poisonous thoughts were stalled, however, at the sound of the horn from the woods. What the- , thought the woman before another squad burst from the trees, effectively pinning the Scanrans between their two forces. Fanche turned to look contemplatingly at the girl standing boldly in the middle of the north wall. When had she managed to get another patrol out there? Was it just coincidence?

It couldn't have been, Fanche realized. She called for the archers to halt long before the squad's appearance. She planned this. But how? All Fanche had heard was horns. The chit couldn't have possibly already set up a messaging system yet – could she have?

A scream from the east wall interrupted the older woman's incredulous musings. Unable to help herself, Fanche spun to look and then promptly wished she hadn't. Body parts and blood soared through the air. Fanche found herself staring, transfixed with horror, as two metal monsters climbed over the wall. Her mouth ran dry as she realized what they were.

Wyldon had mentioned them in one of his impromptu visits. They were horrible killing devices – thicker than average armor and faster than man. They were equipped with wickedly sharp blades and were nearly impossible to kill.

And now there were two of them inside the fort.

"Keep your post!" someone bellowed from behind her. The sudden presence of words caused Fanche to step back just in time for whoever it was to come barreling past her with what looked like a crossbow.

Fanche finally recognized the Lady Knight as she continued to yell for the archers to get back to their posts.

The girl wasn't honestly racing towards the killing devices…was she? But her turn onto the east wall confirmed it.

Fanche watched , paralyzed, as the girl, young enough to be her daughter, practically threw civilians and soldiers alike away from the nearest device so that she might battle it alone. There was no hesitation. There were no shouted pleas for help. There were no war cries. There was determination written in every line of that lonesome body.

This was a green knight?

Mindelan shot the thing point blank. Five tiny feet away. Fanche found her heart in her throat at the proximity. Any moment now the silly girl was going to be hacked to pieces. The people nearest her shouted for her to run and Fanche silently urged her to do the same.

The chit threw herself at it. A startled cry left Fanche's throat only to be turned into a gasp of shock as the device fell…and stopped moving. From where she was, Fanche could see a vapor rise from where the bolt had once been. She turned wide eyes to look at the Commander of the fort. But the girl was no longer there.

Instead, she was running just as quickly, just as unhesitatingly, toward the second killing device.

"Get back! _Now!_" she roared.

Blood flew as the few who were not fast enough were hacked to pieces. The Lady Knight did not so much as flinch as the hot liquid rained down upon her. Again, she got within reach of the creature to shoot. This time, she missed.

Fanche groaned. Now the girl was done for. Now her corpse would litter the ground with the others. But still the chit did not run. She was fumbling for something…another bolt? She planned to go at it _again?_

"Look out! Lady, look out!" The cry drew Fanche's attention to Saefas before it snapped back to the Lady Knight. Her jaw dropped at the logs hovering over the killing device and, inadvertently, the knight. Mindelan threw herself back just as the logs crashed down upon the killing device.

Fanche stared in shock at the pile of wood hiding the killing device from view. Those logs weighed hundreds of pounds. That mage just lifted those to-!

Movement caught the widow's eyes. The Lady Knight was sprinting along the unbroken walkway and down the stairs. Yes, thought Fanche, get away from it…it might not be dead…

The chit ran towards the heaving pile of wood and shot the emerging dome. Like the previous, she lunged at it and pulled the bolt out, causing it to go still.

For a moment, Mindelan stood still, relieved with her victory. But only a moment. Then she was erect, rushing towards the gate. Fanche watched in continued disbelief as the sign for battle won was made and the girl slumped before once again standing tall.

The woman turned to store her bow thoughtfully. The girl she'd thought a slut had just killed two of the most feared things in the war, nearly single-handedly.

She walked down to the ground floor in time to hear Mindelan formulate a plan to head off the devices should they come again. Now Fanche didn't know what to think. She'd thought the chit empty-headed but empty-headed people did not think of methods such as these that could save someone's life.

Her feelings conflicted, she approached the small group, unstringing her bow.

"You'll have to train the soldiers on them," Fanche pointed out, "Drill them. They'll only get one chance to trap'em, those devices move so fast.'

And only you can move faster, she added silently. She didn't think anyone else could have taken two out. She barely heard the girl's assent.

Was this really a green knight? Wyldon had thought this one special but she'd never quite believed him. He was a kind, gruff man – prone to fits of white lies, or so she had thought. This girl was nothing like the new Knights at the fort. She'd charged head first into battle, ordered commoners out of her noble way to…protect them.

Now Fanche stared at the blood covered knight and for a moment, just a moment, she saw a woman instead of a girl. A warrior instead of a chit. And, suddenly, she didn't feel as if her people – the people she'd slaved over to insure their collective survival- hadn't been sent here to simply to starve and die. They'd been sent here to be protected. The thought brought a crooked smile to the jaded woman's lips as she watched the Lady Knight charge forward in her duties as if she hadn't just been in battle. As if the blood she sported was merely a perfume a lady might sport.

"Amused?" asked the Lady, suddenly. Her voice was calm and weary. "I could use a joke."

Fanche shook her head half in response and half in disbelief that the Lady Knight could even be funny after such an event.

"I was just thinking that maybe you're worth your feed," she responded truthfully before calling away Saefas to help her gather their people. If the Lady Knight needed her people by the pole for rosters of some sort then, by god, her people would be at that pole.


End file.
